Decentralized social platform Damus launched: Twitter alternative or Bitcoin booster?

On February 1, 2023, the social application Damus based on the Nostr protocol officially launched on the Apple App Store. This news quickly sparked discussions in the crypto community, with many users sharing their Nostr public keys. Some believe that Nostr is poised to become the "Twitter killer."

Nostr is a simplified Decentralization social protocol aimed at creating a censorship-resistant global social network. Users can broadcast messages via relays and sign them with their private keys. Anyone can send messages to specific users using their public keys. The protocol also supports end-to-end encrypted private communication.

Damus, as the main application of the Nostr protocol, is currently available for download on iOS and Android. Users can create an account without providing personal information; the system will generate a public key as the user ID and a private key for account control. The interface resembles Twitter, including four modules: home, direct messages, search, and notifications.

Compared to Twitter, Damus currently has simpler functions. There is no character limit for posting, but the tagging feature is not available at the moment. Users can comment, like, and repost, but cannot undo these actions. Posting images requires an external link. The search function only supports usernames and public keys, and cannot search for specific content.

Damus also supports Bitcoin tipping functionality and integrates multiple Lightning Network wallets. Users can set up to receive tips in their profiles. Additionally, Damus allows for bot integration to achieve some automation features.

As a newly launched product, Damus currently has some shortcomings in its experience, with issues such as stuttering and slow loading. However, over time, these problems are expected to improve.

Compared to similar products like Lens, Nostr chooses to build on Bitcoin rather than Ethereum. Nostr places more emphasis on barrier-free access, allowing anyone to use it freely. This open strategy helps to quickly accumulate users, but it may also affect user quality.

Although Nostr is still in its infancy, as an open, censorship-resistant, and permissionless communication protocol, it shows good prospects for development. With the launch of applications such as Damus, Nostr is expected to attract more users. If features like private key custody can be introduced in the future, it will further lower the barrier to entry and is likely to achieve large-scale adoption.